Reactivity of T cells from seronegative patients with myasthenia gravis to T cell epitopes of the human acetylcholine receptor

Neurology
A KarniEdna Mozes

Abstract

Seronegative (SN) patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) have clinical and electrophysiologic features similar to those of seropositive (SP) patients, and they respond to the same therapeutic measures. However, because SN patients lack detectable (by standard radioimmunoassays) serum antibodies to acetylcholine receptor (AChR), which are considered to have a crucial role in MG, the pathophysiologic basis for the disease is not clear. We therefore compared the ability of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of SN patients (11) and SP patients (39) to respond to myasthenogenic T cell epitopes of human AChR. We tested two aspects that relate to T-cell immunity: 1) T cell responses to myasthenogenic peptides by proliferation and IL-2 production, and 2) the ability of antigen-presenting cells to bind these T-cell epitopes. T cells of SN patients did not differ from those of SP patients in their ability to respond and to bind the two human AChR-derived myasthenogenic peptides. This supports the belief that most SN patients indeed suffer from an autoimmune disease directed against the AChR. The presence of T-cell immunity in the absence of antibodies may emphasize the importance of AChR-specific T cells in MG.

Citations

Jan 26, 2000·Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. Série III, Sciences de la vie·M Sela
Jul 15, 2005·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Badiga Venkata ArunaEdna Mozes
Feb 19, 2000·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·M Paas-RoznerE Mozes
Aug 17, 2004·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Michael Sela, Edna Mozes
Jan 31, 2016·The Journal of Immunology : Official Journal of the American Association of Immunologists·Yonghao CaoKevin C O'Connor

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